Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How does a typical pea or bean pod develop from a single carpel?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Fabales
A flowering stalk of yellow partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) in the eastern United States.
A typical pea or bean pod develops from the single carpel of the pistil following the fertilization of the ovules contained within it.12
As the fruit matures, the ovary wall, or pericarp, undergoes a drying process. This structure is classified as a legume, a type of simple dehiscent fruit. At maturity, the pod splits open along both of its edges—known as sutures—to release the seeds. In the idealized form of a pea or bean, the developing seeds are arranged in two rows along the upper suture of the carpel.12